Hey, figured I'd drop by and give some info on the Panthers and maybe learn something about the Chargers.

So just a general breakdown,

QB

Jack might need to shake off some rust after being out all year, but he brings a whole different swagger to the team. There's the worry of injury though McCown should be a decent backup... if he can pick up the playbook before week 1.

RB

D-Will and Jonathan Stewart are for real. Look for them to split carries... a lot of them.

WR

With Smith out due to suspension and a rash of injuries, we're pretty thin here. Moose and Jarrett should do a decent job, but neither is going to stretch out the field. We'll see if Hackett is healthy.

O-Line

They're big and have shown some great flashes in the preseason, but they still need time to gel together and they're better suited for run blocking than pass protection.

TE

We don't have any big names here, but Jeff King is quietly consistent and Rosario has shown some real catching ability. Don't be shocked if they put up some numbers with our injury WR core.

Linebacker

We're stacked here. Beason is going into his 2nd year as the MLB, Davis just moved over to the weakside where he can show off his playmaking abilities, and Diggs is a solid contributor at Strong Side. Plus, we've got great depth here.

D-Line

Should be solid against the run, but outside of Peppers it's still unclear whether we can bring pressure. As Peppers goes, so goes the line... unfortunately for y'all he looks like he's back with a chip on his shoulder.

DB

Lucas, Gamble, and Marshall are 3 solid guys. I wouldn't call any of them shutdown, but passing on them won't be easy.

Safety

Harris is a wrecking ball at Strong Safety, and the rookie Godfrey looks to be the real deal at Free Safety. He was everywhere on the field during preseason.

Special Teams

Coverage has been an issue in the past, but hopefully with a new kickoff specialist it'll be less of a problem. Kasay is money from inside 50 yards, and Baker is a consistently good punter. On the flip side, we've got nobody and I mean nobody to actually return kicks or punts.

We'll probably pick up some random guy from other cuts... I just hope they teach him how to fair catch.

Overall
Look for a run first offense with the passing game going for 5, 10, 15 yards at a time rather than pushing it deep. Pass protection might be an issue.

On the defensive side, we have the tools to limit LT's damage, but we have a history of letting TE's hurt us, and it's still unknown whether we can rush the passer.

The national media doesn't give us a lot of credit, but that's because they don't know anything about the team. I don't know if we can pull off the upset since we've got a lot of new pieces that need to fit in and we're missing our biggest playmaker, but it's going to be a much closer game than people seem to think.

Hey, figured I'd drop by and give some info on the Panthers and maybe learn something about the Chargers.

So just a general breakdown,

QB

Jack might need to shake off some rust after being out all year, but he brings a whole different swagger to the team. There's the worry of injury though McCown should be a decent backup... if he can pick up the playbook before week 1.

RB

D-Will and Jonathan Stewart are for real. Look for them to split carries... a lot of them.

WR

With Smith out due to suspension and a rash of injuries, we're pretty thin here. Moose and Jarrett should do a decent job, but neither is going to stretch out the field. We'll see if Hackett is healthy.

O-Line

They're big and have shown some great flashes in the preseason, but they still need time to gel together and they're better suited for run blocking than pass protection.

TE

We don't have any big names here, but Jeff King is quietly consistent and Rosario has shown some real catching ability. Don't be shocked if they put up some numbers with our injury WR core.

Linebacker

We're stacked here. Beason is going into his 2nd year as the MLB, Davis just moved over to the weakside where he can show off his playmaking abilities, and Diggs is a solid contributor at Strong Side. Plus, we've got great depth here.

D-Line

Should be solid against the run, but outside of Peppers it's still unclear whether we can bring pressure. As Peppers goes, so goes the line... unfortunately for y'all he looks like he's back with a chip on his shoulder.

DB

Lucas, Gamble, and Marshall are 3 solid guys. I wouldn't call any of them shutdown, but passing on them won't be easy.

Safety

Harris is a wrecking ball at Strong Safety, and the rookie Godfrey looks to be the real deal at Free Safety. He was everywhere on the field during preseason.

Special Teams

Coverage has been an issue in the past, but hopefully with a new kickoff specialist it'll be less of a problem. Kasay is money from inside 50 yards, and Baker is a consistently good punter. On the flip side, we've got nobody and I mean nobody to actually return kicks or punts.

We'll probably pick up some random guy from other cuts... I just hope they teach him how to fair catch.

Overall
Look for a run first offense with the passing game going for 5, 10, 15 yards at a time rather than pushing it deep. Pass protection might be an issue.

On the defensive side, we have the tools to limit LT's damage, but we have a history of letting TE's hurt us, and it's still unknown whether we can rush the passer.

The national media doesn't give us a lot of credit, but that's because they don't know anything about the team. I don't know if we can pull off the upset since we've got a lot of new pieces that need to fit in and we're missing our biggest playmaker, but it's going to be a much closer game than people seem to think.

Carolina's scary, a strong defensive team but we have a great offensive line and I'm confident a Tolbert/McNeill gameplan against Peppers will effectively remove him from threat level. LT has a history of exploiting the weak point in any defensive line (Bears last year) so it better be good from top to bottom. As far as our defense, we have shutdown corners, an interception magnet, and two shutdown safeties so we can keep eight in the box and shut down the run attack without worrying too much about some Wideouts and tight ends doing serious damage.

Hey, figured I'd drop by and give some info on the Panthers and maybe learn something about the Chargers.

So just a general breakdown,

QB

Jack might need to shake off some rust after being out all year, but he brings a whole different swagger to the team. There's the worry of injury though McCown should be a decent backup... if he can pick up the playbook before week 1.

RB

D-Will and Jonathan Stewart are for real. Look for them to split carries... a lot of them.

WR

With Smith out due to suspension and a rash of injuries, we're pretty thin here. Moose and Jarrett should do a decent job, but neither is going to stretch out the field. We'll see if Hackett is healthy.

O-Line

They're big and have shown some great flashes in the preseason, but they still need time to gel together and they're better suited for run blocking than pass protection.

TE

We don't have any big names here, but Jeff King is quietly consistent and Rosario has shown some real catching ability. Don't be shocked if they put up some numbers with our injury WR core.

Linebacker

We're stacked here. Beason is going into his 2nd year as the MLB, Davis just moved over to the weakside where he can show off his playmaking abilities, and Diggs is a solid contributor at Strong Side. Plus, we've got great depth here.

D-Line

Should be solid against the run, but outside of Peppers it's still unclear whether we can bring pressure. As Peppers goes, so goes the line... unfortunately for y'all he looks like he's back with a chip on his shoulder.

DB

Lucas, Gamble, and Marshall are 3 solid guys. I wouldn't call any of them shutdown, but passing on them won't be easy.

Safety

Harris is a wrecking ball at Strong Safety, and the rookie Godfrey looks to be the real deal at Free Safety. He was everywhere on the field during preseason.

Special Teams

Coverage has been an issue in the past, but hopefully with a new kickoff specialist it'll be less of a problem. Kasay is money from inside 50 yards, and Baker is a consistently good punter. On the flip side, we've got nobody and I mean nobody to actually return kicks or punts.

We'll probably pick up some random guy from other cuts... I just hope they teach him how to fair catch.

Overall
Look for a run first offense with the passing game going for 5, 10, 15 yards at a time rather than pushing it deep. Pass protection might be an issue.

On the defensive side, we have the tools to limit LT's damage, but we have a history of letting TE's hurt us, and it's still unknown whether we can rush the passer.

The national media doesn't give us a lot of credit, but that's because they don't know anything about the team. I don't know if we can pull off the upset since we've got a lot of new pieces that need to fit in and we're missing our biggest playmaker, but it's going to be a much closer game than people seem to think.

...You got that right Buck. I will never trade in my NFL ticket. My fiance's a Favre/Packer fan so now she'll be watching the Jets and Packers in one room and I'll have the Chargers in another. Great return for the money

This game won't be easy. Carolina has a very good defense, that depending on Peppers, can be great. He switched sides on the line this off season, so he'll by lining up against Big Mac, if he's back from his injury by then. I think that we'll be giving whoever's at LT some help, regardless of who's playing. I expect that they'll stack the box like most teams do to stop LT, and it will come down to the passing game. Philip and the wideouts should be able to do something against the Panthers secondary, if they're given time. The offensive line will be key once again. Will they start out slow like last year, or will they come out of the gates fast?

The defense needs to stop the run, period. Carolina doesn't play around, they want to run the ball, and without Smith, they'll be needing to even more. The guys need to tackle, and we need some penetration from the defensive line. Everyone just pray that Wilhelm and Smith put their big boy pants on for Sunday, otherwise those Panther runningbacks might get quite a few yards. Jordan Gross is a great tackle, but he made the switch to LT this offseason, and they're starting a rookie at RT in his place. I think that we can get pressure on Delhomme, if we can stop the run early.

If our offense can get going early, and we get out to a lead, we might be able to force the Panthers into passing the ball, which would give our pass rushers more of an opportunity to get after Delhomme. If not, it will come down to how our run defense starts the year. If they start out slow, Carolina will score, and use up clock. If they come out with some fire, then I think that we win. Early prediction is: Chargers 20-Panthers 13.

1.) Our O-Line is a bit cobbled together right now. With McNeil out we'll have to game plan for Peppers. That warps the blocking scheme for us. With other question marks at O-Line for the Bolts any sort of change of plans will magnify our flaws.

2.) Preseason tackling. Granted it was the preseason but if the poor run defense bleeds into regular season the Panthers can make it a game. Granted, with Smith out (very lucky for us) we will probably be able to rely on our very tallented secondary to keep the passing game in check and dedicate more personell to the run. Here's hoping that the regular season "switch is flipped" with our run D. (Showmeyourbolt... yes, "The big boy pants" LOL. And good point on putting up points early. That would help dictate the game for the Bolts.)

Bottom line: If the Panthers can get their run game going, the contest could be a nail biter. No prediction from me for this one. It will be an interesting (and potentially scrappy) first game of the season.